Fraud Halted in Faceless Clearance System as Customs Suspends 45 Licenses

Pakistan Customs has prevented an effort to manipulate the recently implemented Faceless Customs Assessment System (FCAS), which allows for expedited and high-quality evaluations.

Such an attempt was anticipated, and the Karachi Customs team, under the FBR’s directive, was instructed to stay vigilant. Those who attempted to manipulate the FCAS have been held accountable.

Karachi Customs has suspended the licenses of 45 agents implicated in the gaming attempt and issued show cause notes under the Customs Agents Rules. The FBR suspended an appraising officer yesterday and has started a formal investigation against him under the Efficiency and Discipline Rules after they found out he was involved in this endeavor.

All parties involved in the attempt to game the FCAS have been criminally charged, including agents, appraising officials, and certain private individuals. An investigation group has been formed. Three people have been taken into custody so far. Raids are currently underway to find and punish the remaining criminals.

There is currently no backlog of customs clearances and FCAS is operating smoothly. The Pakistani prime minister inaugurated the system approximately two weeks ago, and since then, stakeholders have been singing its praises as a revolutionary step forward for customs processing.